This invention, which resulted from a contract with the United States Department of Energy, relates generally to an electric device and, more particularly, to a hand-held assembly for charging a radiation dosimeter of the electrometer type.
As is well-known, radiation dosimeters of the electrometer type require charging to a selected degree before use and recharging after extended storage or exposure to radiation. There is a need for an inexpensive, portable charger in which a radiation dosimeter can conveniently be recharged by an ordinary person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,775, issued to S. Kronenberg on Jan. 27, 1981, discloses a dosimeter charger in which a charging voltage is produced by manually applying a force to a piezoelectric crystal. A manually actuated dosimeter charger is described in Repair and Maintenance Manual For Civil Defense Radiological Instruments, Vol. 4, published by the Office of Civil Defense, Washington, D.C. U.S. Pat. No. 2,761,073, issued to L. E. Carlbom et al on Aug. 28, 1956, discloses a radiation dosimeter provided with a charger which generates an electric voltage when shaken. Co-pending, co-assigned U.S. Pat. application Ser. Nos. 343,607(79) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,049, and 358,960(79), now U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,569, also relate to manually operated chargers for radiation dosimeters. The subject matter of all of these documents is to be considered as being incorporated herein by this reference thereto.